The Science Centre's Intellectual Core is Being Gutted

Opinion: Let us be clear about what is happening under the banner of 'restructuring' at the Ontario Science Centre. This is not a strategic pivot; it is a systematic erasure of public curiosity. By eliminating the institution's entire science department, the Ford government is effectively hollowing out the intellectual core of a landmark that exists to inspire evidence-led discovery.

According to reporting from BlogTO, the Ontario Science Centre has laid off 30 workers—though the union representing them, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 549, tells CBC Toronto the number is 31, consisting of 27 permanent and four contract roles. These cuts include the total removal of the science department. As Raluca Ellis, President of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 549, asked in a statement: "How can you have an Ontario Science Centre with no Science Unit?"

This is a betrayal of the workforce and the public alike. The union notes that these cuts wipe out over 540 years of combined service. Global News Toronto reports that the layoffs extended beyond the science unit to include security, live exhibits, business development, and staff in IT, marketing, and education. The union further alleges that just one of the impacted staff members was given the opportunity for different permanent work in the public service.

Science Centre CEO Paul Kortenaar told staff during a video conference call that some departments would no longer be part of the new organizational structure. He explained to employees that functions would be "streamlined, consolidated or reconfigured," requiring different skill sets. While the office of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Zee Hamid told BlogTO that science programming remains "embedded across the entire organization," the reality is a hollowed-out shell. Jason Ash, co-chair of the advocacy group Save Ontario’s Science Centre, told CBC Toronto that these moves reposition the centre as a "vacation day trip for American tourists" rather than an educational destination for children.

This pattern of deception is nothing new. Global News Toronto notes that when the government shuttered the Don Mills Road facility two years ago, it promised there would be no layoffs; yet, 50 food service workers were let go just four days later, and over 100 employees have lost their jobs since. While the province points to a $1 billion project at Ontario Place expected to open in 2029 and claims it will create 1,000 jobs, the current cost is the loss of institutional memory. Martin Fischer, a science educator with nearly 30 years at the centre, told CBC Toronto that the decision is "utterly puzzling" in a climate where Canada should be celebrating its own content.

OPSEU/SEFPO president JP Hornick didn't mince words, accusing Premier Ford of lying to the public and workers. To the government, this is a reconfiguration. To those of us who value the city's intellectual future, it is a shame. When you remove the scientists from the science centre, you aren't restructuring—you are erasing.